Avello Airlines is ending ICE deportation charters, cutting commercial flights and jobs

Avello Airlines will stop flying deportation flights for the U.S. government and will also cut commercial routes and reduce staff, its CEO told employees.

The airline, which debuted in 2021 with a focus on connecting small cities, last year exited a handful of destinations on the West Coast and also turned to deporting deportees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which sparked protests and backlash from some politicians.

“We moved part of our fleet into a government program that promised greater financial stability but put us at the center of a political controversy,” CEO Andrew Levy said in an email to employees late Tuesday, seen by CNBC.

“The program provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not generate enough consistent, predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexities and costs,” Levy wrote.

Avello said it will close its base in Mesa, Arizona, as ICE flights end. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The airline also agreed to return six of its aircraft Boeing 737-700 It said it would close bases at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina and Wilmington International Airport, although it would continue to serve those cities.

These closures will lead to job cuts, Levy said.

“Some transportation opportunities will be available, but we will need to reduce the number of jobs due to our smaller fleet and network,” Levy wrote.

The airline will instead focus on bases at Tweed New Haven Airport in Connecticut, Lakeland Leander International Airport in Florida, which is located between Tampa and Orlando, Wilmington Airport in Delaware and Concord-Padgett Regional Airport, outside Charlotte, North Carolina. It will also open a base at McKinney National Airport near Dallas.

The union representing Avello flight attendants praised the end of ICE flights.

“The airline industry is constantly changing, but we have encountered a lot of change at our airlines including operating certain flights for which we were not originally signed up,” CWA, the union for flight attendants, said in a statement to members. “We hope that with the end of ICE flights and new funding, the future will be more stable for Avelo’s flight attendants.”

Avello said the near-term schedule changes “will impact many customer itineraries” and said it would communicate via text and email with affected passengers.

Levy told employees that the carrier had raised “a significant amount of new capital” at the end of the year and that the carrier’s financial position had “never been stronger.”